LONDON | NEW YORK | Malmö | MUNICH | June 5th, 2024 - The global leader in AI-powered sports video and data software, Spiideo (www.spiideo.com), today announces the successful completion of a $20 million funding round led by Munich-based growth equity firm, Cipio Partners (www.cipiopartners.com). Existing investors, including Mathias Kamprad, Måns Hultman (Tassaka AB), and Håkan Roos (Roosgruppen AB), also participated in the round. Roland Dennert, Managing Partner of Cipio Partners, will join the Spiideo board.
Drake Star Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Spiideo and its shareholders. The transaction further establishes Drake Star’s leadership in the Sports Tech and SaaS space, following the landmark sale of Wildmoka to Backlight, a portfolio company of US-growth equity fund PSG.
As the global value of sports media rights reaches a record high of almost $56 billion, SaaS company Spiideo is spearheading the transformation in sports video from manual to automatic using AI. The company is already generating half of its revenue in the North American market, and will use this new investment to further accelerate innovation by expanding its product and AI teams, and drive growth through an expanded international sales team.
Already a global market leader present in more than 60 countries, Spiideo’s products are installed in over 6,000 venues and used by more than 4,000 teams across English football’s Premier League, NHL (North America’s National Hockey League), NBA (North America’s National Basketball Association), Serie A, MLS, Ligue 1, NCAA, Liga MX, and Bundesliga, as well as numerous second and third tier international leagues. Spiideo’s cloud native cameras, which are the most flexible and powerful AI cameras on the market, enable a range of automated production and analysis services.
Accelerated growth is being experienced in the utilisation of Spiideo’s ‘Spiideo Play’ cloud-based broadcasting and live-streaming platform for media rights holders, leagues, and clubs. Spiideo leverages AI automation to supply “TV-class" production at previously unimaginable price points, enabling increased commercialisation of lower tier leagues and niche sports in an increasingly inflated media rights market. As the landscape of sports broadcasting changes and develops, Spiideo is leading the transformation in enabling more fans to watch and engage with the teams they follow, irrespective of their level or popularity.
In addition to its production and live-streaming capability, Spiideo’s ‘Spiideo Perform’ product - a cloud-based and multi-angle sports video analysis tool with live game and player data - unlocks the full potential of teams and players. It is trusted by elite clubs such as Brentford, Wolves, Inter Milan, LA Galaxy and numerous women’s national soccer teams including World Cup winners, Spain, as well as all teams in the US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
An AI-native company, Spiideo is in a prime position to capitalise on the rapid AI transition of the sports video production and analysis industry. Spiideo was co-founded in 2012 in Malmö, Sweden, by CEO Patrik Olsson (former VP, Head of Software at Sony) and Chairman, Örjan Johansson (co-founder of, and headed development for, Bluetooth).
The funding follows a year of rapid growth and significant milestones for Spiideo. In 2024, for the fourth consecutive year, Spiideo was named as one of the Financial Times’ fastest-growing companies. Spiideo also announced a new partnership to provide streaming services to ESPN's Wide World of Sports (a 220-acre multi-sport complex which plays host to up to 400 fixtures every weekend), as well as the expansion and renewal of its long standing relationship with the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the US, providing every stadium in the league with Spiideo AI camera systems.
"Drake Star was a great advisor for Spiideo, providing us with a strategic market perspective along with the team and resources to run a comprehensive, well-organized and thorough process," said Örjan Johansson and Patrik Olsson, co-founders of Spiideo. "Eric Ward, James Burrow and Greg Bedrosian were true partners to us. They were dedicated and strategic, ultimately helping us find the perfect investment from Cipio and current owners."
Roland Dennert, Managing Partner of Cipio Partners added: "Eric Ward, James Burrow and their colleagues did a great job in conveying the investment opportunity and attracting our interest in a market full of opportunities competing for attention. They also prepared the company well and thus enabled the Cipio team to conduct a detailed due diligence at a fast pace. They had always thought ahead of what we might need next and made considerable bandwidth available for our team and advisors to get the information we needed. This is our second deal with Eric and Drake Star and the Cipio team looks forward to other opportunities to work together."
Eric Ward, Managing Partner at Drake Star commented: “We are delighted to have advised Spiideo, a true pioneer in the industry, and its shareholders on this $20 Million growth round – an important company milestone. It was a pleasure working once again with Roland and his team at Cipio on this transaction. This transaction demonstrates how our dedicated Sports Tech M&A Advisory practice helps successfully bring together world-class and disruptive Sports Tech companies with top tier investors. There is no doubt that Spiideo is now primed to further accelerate the democratization of sports across the globe through their integrated Spiideo Play and Spiideo Perform product offering."
Drake Star Team: Eric Ward, Gregory Bedrosian, James Burrow, Dan Joyce, Kishen Patel, Peter Cox
Inquiries
For further inquiries, please contact:
Eric Ward
Managing Partner | Drake Star
Eric.ward@drakestar.com | +44 20 7112 7777
Gregory Bedrosian
Managing Partner & CEO | Drake Star
Gregory.bedrosian@drakestar.com | +1 203 524 5652
ABOUT SPIIDEO
Spiideo delivers astonishingly simple, powerful, and innovative software solutions to the global sports community that shape the future of sports video production, analysis, and consumption.
Spiideo was founded in Malmö, in the south of Sweden, in 2012. Since then, the company has expanded and now has international offices in the UK, US, China, & Germany. Spiideo has raised $40 million to date.
For more information, visit: www.spiideo.com.
ABOUT CIPIO PARTNERS
Founded in 2003, Cipio Partners is a leading investment management and advisory firm for European growth capital & minority buyouts for technology companies. Cipio Partners targets European growth stage technology businesses with €10-50 million in revenue and makes initial investments ranging from €5-15 million. Cipio Partners operates from offices in Munich and Luxembourg.
For more invormation, visit: www.cipiopartners.com.
About Drake Star
Drake Star is an award-winning global tech investment bank that has completed over 500 transactions since 2003. The Drake Star global team of senior professionals across offices in New York, London, Paris, Munich, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berlin, and Dubai* focuses on mergers & acquisitions and corporate finance services worldwide in Software/SaaS, Consumer & Retail Technology, Digital Media, FinTech, HR Tech, Mobility & Sustainability, Digital Services, and Industrial Tech sectors.
Drake Star is the marketing name for the global investment bank Drake Star Partners Limited and its subsidiaries and affiliates. In the USA, all securities are transacted through Drake Star Securities LLC. In the USA, Drake Star Securities LLC is regulated by FINRA and is a member of SIPC. Drake Star UK Limited (FRN 942020) is an appointed representative of Razlin Ltd (FRN 730805), which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The endorsement shown was given by a client. The endorsement is no guarantee of future performance or success. This is not a paid endorsement and no material conflicts of interest exist between the endorser and Drake Star. © 2024 Drake Star Partners Limited.
For more information, visit www.drakestar.com.
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